What are the odds?
Two young friends from St. Davids, classmates and elite junior golfers, travel separately to Montreal to compete in a national tournament and dominate the field to finish first and second.
Based on the performances of Kaige Zhu, 11, and Eli Perng, 12, the odds are ever in their favour.
The pair, who attend St. Davids Public School and play together on the school’s golf team, already have had some outstanding success in competitions.
Zhu topped the leaderboard this week at the Notah Begay Junior Canadian Golf Championship, shooting 1-over through 36 holes at the Kanawaki Golf Club near Montreal.
He had a 1-under 69 on Monday and shot 2-over 72 on Tuesday in the boys age 10-11 division.
With the win he qualifies for the Notah Begay U.S. National Championships this fall where he’ll be up against golfers from all over the world.
Perng will be the alternate for that tourney, which will be broadcast on the Golf Channel.
This week, Zhu ended up two shots ahead of Perng, who finished at +3 for the tourney. Perng carded birdies on the 16th and 17th holes on Tuesday to put the pressure on his friend.
But Zhu held strong, despite a bogey on 17.
Jun Lee of Regina was third at +5 and the rest of the 20-player field trailed at +13 and higher.
In an interview with broadcasters after his win, Zhu noted he made some mistakes but managed to recover.
He said he’s “very excited” to compete in the world tourney in November in Louisiana and figures it will be the biggest event he’s ever participated in.
Zhu and his parents, Mike and Jane, drove home from Montreal late Tuesday. He’s a top-level tennis player as well and is playing in a tournament starting Thursday in Hamilton.
He’s still only 11 but is competing in the U14 age group.
Perng and his dad Richard were en route on Wednesday to world-famous Pinehurst, N.C., to participate in the U.S. Kids Golf World Championships.
On Perng’s Instagram account, @golfwitheli, he noted he was happy with his performance.
“I came on strong with 1-over par for the round. It just wasn’t enough. I ran out of holes,” he said.
“It was really fun playing with the boys, a super good experience.”
Mike Zhu, who caddied for his son, complimented Perng on his play, noting he sank a few long putts for birdies to really put the pressure on.
“Eli played very well and came on very strong” late in the final round, he said.
At the Kanawaki tournament, different age groups played from different tees, said Richard Perng, who caddied for Eli.
The players in the age 10-11 boys division competed over a 5,400-yard par-70 layout, roughly equivalent to playing the yellow tees at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf Club.
After his 69 on Monday, Zhu had a tough start on day two, with a double bogey and a bogey on the first two holes.
Perng birdied #3 to take a one-shot lead but Zhu got things back on track with birdies on 4, 5 and 6 as the friends duelled in a tight match over the remaining holes.